In 1996 West African peacekeepers began a disarmament programme in Liberia, cleared land mines and reopened roads, allowing some of the refugees to return.

But Guinean rebels who had failed to overthrow President Lansana Conte also fled to Liberia, where they reportedly received military training. In later years they went to Sierra Leone and linked up with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which had made its appearance five years earlier. The RUF had already ravaged much of Sierra Leone in its attempt to gain control of the country’s lucrative diamond mines.